


Rebellionbound - Prologue

by Anarchyopteryx



Series: Rebellionbound [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Timeline, Gen, Jadebloods, Rebellionbound, Trolls, Wigglers, headcanons about brooding caverns, headcanons about jadebloods, rainbowdrinker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-28
Updated: 2013-07-28
Packaged: 2017-12-21 16:17:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/902309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anarchyopteryx/pseuds/Anarchyopteryx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last follower of The Sufferer saves a wiggler who is believed to be his heir. He will grow up to do what his ancestor couldn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rebellionbound - Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prologue to Rebellionbound. It doesn't flow well into the main story or hook people into that fic, so I'm keeping it as a separate work that is not required to read. It just felt like a thing I had to write. Once I have a good title for the series, I'll bundle the trilogy I'm working on with this and the epilogue.

They're just eggs, small, numerous and gray. Each one looks the same. Only when they hatch the larvae become a part of the hierarchy.

It was hatching day for this batch. A young jadeblood stood by, making sure everyone gets out of their shells safely. Others like her would let the struggling ones die, but she knew that with a helping hand they could grow up and be just as productive as those who broke out in an hour or less. Not everyone here helped the newly hatched, this woman's habits were rare but not unheard of or disgraceful. Most of her sisters only tended to the mother.

Soon, the hatching chamber was full of shells and a rainbow of fluid, illuminated by the rainbowdrinker's light. Wigglers of all the colors of the hemospectrum skittered about, immediately dispersing through the tunnels leading away from there. To stay with hatchmates was dangerous, it attracted predators.

Time to step in for the stragglers. A particular wiggler was having a hard time, even though that one started hatching quite early. The egg was moving, yet there were barely any cracks in the shell. She thought of leaving this one be. Maybe the wiggler was sick.

The woman touched the pendant around her neck. He would be disappointed in her. As the last known follower of The Sufferer, she had a duty to fulfill. Maybe this wiggler was the one she had been waiting for.

Frustrated squeaks emanated from the pod, so she tried to soothe its contents. "Shhhh, it's okay. I'm going to help you." Gently, she rotated it, searching for fissures. Her breath caught when red ooze dripped from a little air hole the wiggler made. Almost too quickly, she widened the hole further with her thumb and worked the top of the egg off.

Inside, a little gray face stared at her with innocent bright red eyes. No wonder he had such a hard time breaking out, his horns were so small and dull. For a second, she imagined The Dolorosa in a similar situation. But she would not be the one to care for this little one. The jadeblood knew what she had to do. Her hand entered the egg and the tired wiggler clung to it. Indeed, his soft translucent body was a bright shade of crimson. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she held the mutated wiggler close. If anyone saw him, he would be killed immediately.

The troll opened her possession satchel and pulled out a snuggle plane she kept for cold times and this particular situation. She wrapped up the exhausted wiggler and he began to fall asleep. Setting him aside, she extracted an old map she had been given so long ago by an old man, refreshing her memory of the route she was supposed to take. Carefully staying away from the places usually occupied by those of her caste, she made her way through the tunnels.

"What ya got there, Guardian?" The voice belonged to the woman known as The Huntress, a notorious rainbowdrinker who often surfaced in the daylight to feed upon young trolls, even though walking on the surface was illegal. Most jadebloods did it anyway.

"Nothing. It's just a dead wiggler I'm going to eat."

"Oh! Finally getting into that, eh? I thought you didn't like grub blood. Why is it all wrapped up?" She tried to get a better look at it.

Guardian edged away from her, "It hatched, then it died afterward. It was all gross and slimy, I didn't want nasty maroon gunk on my clothes. I'm going to find a river and wash it off."

She licked her fangs, "Yeah, that slime is nasty . Haha, I bet it realized it would have such a short life, then just gave up."

Guardian laughed uneasily.

"Wigglers are delicious, have fun draining it dry. I'll see you around." The Huntress left, returning to her search for easy prey.

That was close. Guardian made her way through narrow tunnels, ducking through passageways until she met a stone slab. Somewhere nearby was a spot on the ground, under which was a scale calibrated to only work under the average weight and heat of a wiggler. Step. Step. Gentle steps. The ground crumpled beneath her foot, revealing a tiny foot-deep hole occupied by a tiny bronze scale. After placing him on the ground, she dug the dirt and pebbles away.

The swaddled grub was placed onto the scale. All this moving around woke him. The tray eased down and the great stone rolled away. Quickly, she snatched him up. Guardian prepared to run, the stone was rolling back into place.

Narrowly, she and her little bundle made it. The other side was completely dark. The troll lit herself to see where she was. On the wall behind her was a button to open the exit. This had been an operation waiting for hundreds upon hundreds of sweeps. Guardian pressed on, as soon as she passed a familiar symbol she knew she was in the right place.

The wiggler made fussy sniffling sounds. Oh dear, he was starting to get upset. "Shhh... please be quiet." The tunnel went on.

This must be where they were kept.

The woman had been walking for an hour when the wiggler became restless, unwrapping himself and curling against her. Something up ahead skittered.

A sudden blow fell across her back. Guardian spun to see a shelled beast with snapping claws. She pulled her lips back baring her teeth, "Hiiiisssssssss!" She stepped backwards, shining as bright as she could. The beast advanced and she backed away from it. "Hiiiiiiiisssss!" This was not the one she was looking for, it was obviously hostile. The tunnel opened to a cavern behind her.

"Skreeeeee!" A dozen crab beasts retreated, but more advanced, suddenly interested in the intruder. Guardian was aware of them, and began to flash like a strobe light. "HIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSS! HIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS!" Her original pursuer suddenly withdrew, many others who were going to target her did the same. They all hugged the walls of the cave, a few fled the area, others hid behind boulders.

All but one.

Once the carapaced beasts were subdued, she glowed brightly in the middle of the room. The wiggler cried loudly, upset with the sudden noise and painful brightness.

"Grrrrrggh." One small beast had the courage to approach the rainbowdrinker. This one looked and acted different. He was smaller, sleeker, sniffing the air, stretching his head toward the wiggler.

"Hiiiisss-Oh!" She peeled the clinging grub away from her, tucking him into the snuggle plane. The young lusus closed in, snuffling and gurgling with his head bowed. Yes, this was the creature she was looking for, the one who was bred for him.

Guardian held out the wiggler, "I have something for you."


End file.
